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History · Crane Lake Township

Crane Lake Township’s post office opened in 1922, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Crane Lake Township was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: maps from 1967 on.

1922first post office
1on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Crane Lake Township began

When was Crane Lake Township founded?

1922

The Crane Lake Township post office opened in 1922, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Harding (1896), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 98104 years
Founding year: the first Crane Lake Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Crane Lake Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Crane Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crane Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crane Lake Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Crane Lake Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Crane Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Crane Lake is an unincorporated community in Crane Lake Township, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States; located within the Kabetogama State Forest. Crane Lake is situated at the southern entry to the Voyageurs National Park; the western entry to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; and an entry into Canada. The community is located 27 miles (43 km) northeast of Orr, along Saint Louis County Roads 23 and 24. Crane Lake is located 45 miles northeast of Cook. The northern terminus of County Road 24 is at Crane Lake.

Its first post office opened in 1922. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 82 to 98 (+20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Crane Lake Township, 1896 to 1967

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Harding post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Harding post office closes
  5. 1922Post officeThe Crane Lake post office opens
  6. 1928BuiltWilliam Ingersoll Estate is built
  7. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Crane Lake Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Voyagaire Lodge and Houseboats - Crane Lake - Northern Minnesota2019Voyagaire Lodge and Houseboats - Crane Lake - Norther…Crane Lake, Boat Dock, Minnesota2017Crane Lake, Boat Dock, Minnesota
On the map

Crane Lake Township on the map, 1967 to 1999

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crane Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Crane Lake Township on the 1967 USGS mapCrane Lake Township on the 1983 USGS mapCrane Lake Township on the 1999 USGS map1967Johnson Lake sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crane Lake Township.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 5 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
2011
William Ingersoll Estate
William Ingersoll Estate, built 1928
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Prefabricated Housing1
William Ingersoll EstatePrefabricated Housing · Built 1928

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Harding, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Harding
1896–1902
Crane Lake
1922–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Crane Lake
Gone or out of use
Harding Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Portage TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Crane Lake Township’s history

What year was Crane Lake Township founded?

The Crane Lake Township post office opened in 1922, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Crane Lake Township?

One place: the William Ingersoll Estate (listed 2011).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.